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Staten Island Residents: Speeding Drivers Have No Regard For Safety, Traffic Laws

NEW YORK(CBSNewYork) -- Making full stops at stop signs, driving when the light turns green, and following the speed limit are concepts that everyone learns in driver's ed.

On Tuesday night, CBS 2's cameras caught a number of drivers who failed to even attempt to obey the law.

Car after car blew through a stop sign at the intersection of Grand and Rugby in the Grymes Hill section of Staten Island, CBS 2's Dave Carlin reported.

Residents say it happens at all hours of the night.

"They just go right through the stop sign," Donna Alesi said.

Desperate neighbors have put up safety signs in their yards but nothing seems to work. However, an intensified, city-wide, two-day crackdown on speeders has offered them a sense of relief.

"Very pleased to report that with the increased attention the citations we're issuing, those numbers are up very dramatically," Police Commissioner Bill Bratton said.

One officer who was assigned to the hilly and winding Howard Avenue on Staten Island, said that drivers typically exceed the posted 20 m.p.h. speed limit by 10 or more. He also ticketed motorists for failing to wear seat-belts.

The ticket blitz has been welcomed, but residents have demanded better enforcement year-round.

"We need more than just a crackdown on speeding. We need cops to be canvassing the area a lot more than they are," Alesi said.

New Yorkers can expect to see extra officers and extra tickets being written through midnight on Wednesday.

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